Ryan Dempster right at home as Red Sox top Blue Jays

Canadian grabs win in Toronto

John TomaseFriday, May 03, 2013

Credit: AP

HAPPY HOMECOMING: Canadian Ryan Dempster allowed one run and four hits over six innings to beat the Blue Jays, 3-1.

TORONTO — The last time Ryan Dempster had a chance to pitch in what was then known as SkyDome, it was 1994 and the British Columbia native was a 17-year-old right-hander for junior Team Canada. Dempster didn’t pitch in that series, and little did he know it would be almost two decades before he’d get a chance to pitch here again.

He didn’t let it slip by last night at Rogers Centre, throwing six solid innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays that allowed the Red Sox to reach 20 wins at the earliest date in franchise history.

“I always love pitching back here,” Dempster said. “Coming home and pitching in your country is always a fun thing. I’ve never had a chance to pitch here. . . . I grew up watching the Blue Jays in Skydome, so it was a lot of fun.”

Dempster spearheaded a solid top-to-bottom performance in a game periodically ground to a halt by Blue Jays pitchers, who walked 10. The Red Sox scored their runs on two singles (Mike Carp, Jacoby Ellsbury) and a sacrifice fly (Stephen Drew), and otherwise did very little offensively.

But Drew started a trio of 6-4-3 double plays, and when closer Andrew Bailey wasn’t available for the ninth because of biceps soreness, former closer Joel Hanrahan rose to the occasion by inducing a game-ending double play for the 100th save of his career.

“I didn’t really like the situation that called for that, (because) we’re a better team when Bailey and I are both healthy,” Hanrahan said. “Hopefully he’ll only be down for a day or two.”

Dempster got things off to a rough start in the first when fellow Canadian Brett Lawrie led off with a solo homer to center.

The Jays then loaded the bases in the third on three walks, but Dempster induced the dangerous Edwin Encarnacion, fresh off a two-homer night, to ground into a double play, and from there he retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced.

“I felt like maybe I was picking a little bit and trying to be too fine instead of getting back on the aggressive and taking advantage of their aggressiveness early on,” Dempster said. “They were coming after me, and maybe kind of got away from the strike zone a little bit more than I wanted to. I was able to hone it back in.”

Another guy who didn’t let things get away from him was Hanrahan. The big right-hander was eager to turn the page on an injury- and struggle-filled April, but after allowing a leadoff single to Colby Rasmus in the ninth, he went to 2-0 on Rajai Davis before a visit from catcher David Ross set him on target.

“He told me to keep my direction on him,” Hanrahan said. “I think he actually set up right down the middle. He got me locked back in. He’s been around for a while for a reason. He’s fun to throw to. He took charge.”

With shortstop Munenori Kawasaki at the plate, Hanrahan went into challenge mode, getting ahead 0-2. Kawasaki took a defensive swing at a 97-mph fastball and slapped it to Drew for the game-ending double play.

“My slider is still not really where it needs to be,” Hanrahan said. “The swings he was taking, I wanted to expand away, and I know he likes to just put the ball on the ground. I wanted him to hit the ball hard on the ground at somebody and try and get that double play, and it actually worked.”